First Smoked Chicken

Started by renoman, February 03, 2014, 02:23:21 PM

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renoman

Well I tried my first smoked whole chicken this last weekend and I was a little disappointed. I brined it for 4-5 hours in a salt/brown sugar brine and smoked it for 2 hours with apple. Took it off after 4 hours and it looked just beautiful. Nice crisp skin and a nice colour. I was not happy with the overly wet texture of the meat though. Tasted a little mushy. Think I will skip the brine next time as I never brine when making them on the Weber.






KyNola

Brining might very well be the culprit, especially if the chicken had already been injected with some sort of solution which as I know you know is very common these days.

Saber 4

It looks good coming out of the smoker, I've had problems with store brined pork loins coming out with a mushy texture before so I agree with both of your that the brine could be the culprit.

You might want to look into a vertical chicken roaster as well so you don't have a cavity full of hot liquid chicken fat, I got one at wally world a long time ago that has a small bowl for the base and it catches most of the drippings to help keep them away from the element.

TNRockyraccoon

Bradley smoked chickens is one thing I have a lot of experience with. I've been making them for about ten years now for clients to eat for lunch.

I never brine my chickens. I give them a good washing and then rub them with a good dry rub (I use Rendezvous). Put them in the smoker at 225. I always give them eight hours at least. Then I typically FTC for up to 7 hours before we eat lunch on the river. The bird is usually still steaming when I open it.

I will admit that the meat can sometimes be a little on the dry side of the scale, Especially if you don't add fresh water to the pan when removing pucks. But with chicken I'll take dry and done over moist but questionable any day.....especially when I'm feeding my clients.

My clients absolutely love them, and often pick the bones clean. I do provide a few sauces on the side.

renoman

Quote from: TNRockyraccoon on February 03, 2014, 06:14:33 PM
Bradley smoked chickens is one thing I have a lot of experience with. I've been making them for about ten years now for clients to eat for lunch.

I never brine my chickens. I give them a good washing and then rub them with a good dry rub (I use Rendezvous). Put them in the smoker at 225. I always give them eight hours at least. Then I typically FTC for up to 7 hours before we eat lunch on the river. The bird is usually still steaming when I open it.

I will admit that the meat can sometimes be a little on the dry side of the scale, Especially if you don't add fresh water to the pan when removing pucks. But with chicken I'll take dry and done over moist but questionable any day.....especially when I'm feeding my clients.

My clients absolutely love them, and often pick the bones clean. I do provide a few sauces on the side.

Wow, 8 hrs. in the smoker. Mine would have been hard as a rock. It was a fairly small bird though. Had a left over breast for lunch yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. The smoke had really permeated the meat while sitting in the fridge for a day and the mushiness was gone.

renoman

Quote from: Saber 4 on February 03, 2014, 05:47:09 PM
It looks good coming out of the smoker, I've had problems with store brined pork loins coming out with a mushy texture before so I agree with both of your that the brine could be the culprit.

You might want to look into a vertical chicken roaster as well so you don't have a cavity full of hot liquid chicken fat, I got one at wally world a long time ago that has a small bowl for the base and it catches most of the drippings to help keep them away from the element.

Saber, I stuff mine with onion, celery, lemons and herbs. Cook with the breast down to absorb the stuffing flavour so the vertical rack is out. Did a beer can chicken once though and it was pretty good.

Smoker John

Bradley Digital 4 Rack
Bradley BS712

TNRockyraccoon


[/quote]
Wow, 8 hrs. in the smoker. Mine would have been hard as a rock. It was a fairly small bird though. [/quote]

Mine are typically 4 - 5 lb birds. I know it sounds crazy but they really do turn out pretty good. Of course, I've always cooked these birds on a stock bradley setup, so the temps could have been between 200 and 240 when shooting for 225. It'll be interesting to see how they turn out under PID control once I start booking fishing trips again.


WoodlawnSmoker

That chicken looks pretty good to me.  This is my next project, have you figured out what you would do differently if anything?

renoman

Quote from: WoodlawnSmoker on February 08, 2014, 04:11:53 PM
That chicken looks pretty good to me.  This is my next project, have you figured out what you would do differently if anything?

Yes, next time I will skip the brine. I rub my bird with canola oil and then just coat with salt and pepper. Makes for a very nice crisp skin. I have been doing these on my Weber grill for years but was anxious to try it in the Bradley with the PID keeping the temp steady at 225.

Pachanga

No question, brine can change the texture of the bird.  But there are a lot of variables that contribute; primarily time and salt content.

I brine all poultry (injected with some sort of store solution or not).  I use a low salt brine.  1-1/8 cup kosher or course sea salt per 2 cups of water along with other additives.  This brine is very forgiving.  I have left boneless skinless breasts in for 4 days by mistake with no texture change and no salty taste.  I always brine my 20 pound turkeys for four days.

My normal times for smaller chicken parts are 24 to 48 hours and 48 to 72 hours for a whole chicken.

Just my experience.

Good luck and slow smoking.

Pachanga

STLstyle

Pretty bird!  My wife would just assume I cook chickens vs. anything.  I normally finish in my srg.  That piece of equipment is the best chicken cooker on the planet IMO.  Especially after some smoke in a bradley first. 

I just rub those chickens down and throw em in, 2 hours of apple and finish in the srg.  Nice and easy. quick, and most importantly, good eatin!


DBS 6 Rack
Dual 500W Element Mod
BBQ Guru DigiQ / Raptor Combo

BigRich

We love the chickens in this house.  We buy a box of 16 that we split with a friend.  We always cook two at a time.  They couldn't be easier and come out awesome every time.  Here's what we do.  I promise if you try it you won't be disappointed.

Jans Rub and oil
Preheat to 250 (1 hr warmup)
Cabinet 225 vent open
3 hrs smoke
move to oven at low broil

Finish when IT is 165 and skin is 75/25 black and dark brown, whichever comes last (watch out, it cooks fast!)

elevernier

Thanks for the info guys. I am going to try this tomorrow.

AllDayFoodie

Looks good, I think that's what I'm gonna do next is a whole chicken. I'll probably skip the brine though, thanks for the heads up!